Indigenous Roots

Discussion questions to Consider How do the Mayan and Aztec polities compare in terms of land occupied, societal structure, and contributions to history? How were the indigenous societies of Mesoamerica similar or different from those in the Andean region? How did Mesoamerican and Andean societies differ from those found elsewhere in the Americas? How did the nature of Aztec society contribute to its conquest by Cortés? Could the Aztecs have resisted differently?

Timeline: Pre-Colombian America Peopling of the Americas 30,000-10,000 BC Last ice age 20,000 -12,000 BC Migrations from Asia (Polynesia) 9,500 -9,000 BC Humans reached southern tip of South America 9,000 - 8,000 BC Disappearance of megafauna 8,000 - 5,000 BC First Settlements (North and Mesoamerica) 2,000 BC First permanent agricultural settlements (Oaxaca, 1700BC)

Timeline: Pre-Colombian America Ancient American Civilizations Formative Period 1200BC -1AD Olmec Culture (Veracruz) 850-200 AD Chavin de Huantar (Peru) Classic Period 150-650 AD Teotihuacan (Valley of Mexico); first great Mesoamerican empire 200-700 AD Monte Alban (Oaxaca, Mexico) Mochica Nazca cultures/states in Peru 250-600 AD Maya Early Classic Period 375-1000 AD Tihuanaco and Huari cultures/states (Peru) 600-900 AD Maya Late Classic Period Post-Classic Period 750-1168 Toltec empire - Cholula, Tula (Mexico) 800-1465 Chimu, Chan Chan (Peru) 900-1530 Maya Post-Classic era Ancient America at the time of Columbian Voyages 1410-1532 Inca Empire 1428-1521 Aztec Empire

Mesoamerica before Conquest Pre-1519 Mesoamerica before Conquest

Olmec Heartland 1200BC- 1AD

Teotuatican 100BC -750BC

Quetzalcoatl

Toltecs at Tula

Toltecs invaded the city of Chichen Itza by 987AD and ruled

Maya Empire

Mexica migration

Aztec

Lake Texcoco

Huitzilopochtli

Tlatelolco

Market at Tlatelolco

Templo Mayor

Moctezuma II

Aztec Sacrifice

Florentine Codex: Example 1: Aztec Field medicine